An IPTV player for Apple TV
A television is where an IPTV subscription was always meant to end up, and it is also where setting one up is worst. There is no clipboard on tvOS, so a playlist address — usually a long one, with a username and a password buried in it — has to be spelled out one character at a time with a remote control. Tivsy takes the address from your iPhone over your own network instead, and after that the television behaves like a television: channels in a grid, posters for films, a guide you can scroll, and the thing you were half-way through waiting where you left it.
Install Tivsy on the Apple TV
Open the App Store on the Apple TV and search for Tivsy. It needs tvOS 18 or later, which covers Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD. If you already bought Premium on iPhone or iPad, do not buy it again — it is one Universal Purchase across all three, and signing in with the same Apple Account is all that is required.
Send the playlist from your iPhone
Open Tivsy on the Apple TV and it shows a four-digit code. On the iPhone, open Settings and choose Send to Apple TV, pick the television, and enter the code. The playlist travels directly between the two devices over your own network — there is no server in the middle, no account, and nothing to upload. This is the whole reason the feature exists: an Xtream address with credentials in it is not something to type in front of other people, or at all.
Or type the address with the remote
You do not need an iPhone. On the setup screen choose M3U URL or Xtream Codes and enter the details with the on-screen keyboard. For an Xtream account that is a host, a username and a password rather than one long link, which is far less painful to spell out. Either route ends in the same place.
Live channels are free; films and series are Premium
On Apple TV every live channel plays without paying anything, and there is no advertising anywhere in the television app. Films and series sit behind Premium there — on iPhone and iPad they are free because advertising pays for them, and tvOS has no advertising to carry. You can still browse all of it: covers, synopses, seasons and episode lists are open, and the subscription is only asked for when you press Play.
Add the programme guide
If your provider supplies an XMLTV guide, add its address in Settings and the grid fills with what is on now and what is next. An Xtream account usually carries its own guide and needs nothing extra. The guide refreshes itself; you do not have to remember to.
Common questions
Do I need the iPhone app to use Tivsy on Apple TV?
No. The television app is complete on its own and a playlist can be typed straight into it. The iPhone is a convenience for the one part of the job a remote control is bad at.
Is the Apple TV app a separate purchase?
No. iPhone, iPad and Apple TV are one app through Universal Purchase, so Premium bought on any of them applies to all of them. If it does not appear, Restore Purchases on the television will fetch it.
Why do films need Premium on Apple TV when they are free on iPhone?
Because the iPhone version is paid for by advertising and the television version cannot be. Google's mobile ads have no tvOS build at all, so there is no advertising on Apple TV to remove — a subscription is the only way that work is paid for there. Live television stays free on both.
Which Apple TV models does it run on?
Anything running tvOS 18 or later: Apple TV 4K in every generation, and Apple TV HD. There is no separate build for older boxes.
Set it up on the phone, watch it on the television — the same sources, favourites and resume positions on both.